Touring - Best touring bike pump - 2006

Hi all,

I need to buy a pump for touring use. I've looked at Crank Brothers pumps and the Topeak Road Morph. I'm sure there are many I haven't seen in my 15mins of searching... whats the best pump for touring use? Thank you

Topeak Road Morph.

Zefal HP, but I think it was superseded by the Zefal HP-X, so now you need to buy the right size for your frame.

It looks a bit old-fashioned, but it works well and it will keep working.

My Zefal HP is 22 years old.

Topeak Road Morph.

I'll second this choice.

I use it as my main pump - it's great.

Topeak Road morph with gaugeit's available without. Get the gauge.

I gave away my metal crank bros. pump it's awful. I kept the smal plastic one as a back up to co2 carts on my mtb. It's just good enough for air to get you home. High pressure is very difficult.

Topeak Road Morph.

yup

Topeak Road Morph G. The only issue some people have had is mounting it to the frame. It's small enough to fit into your panniers easily.

I own both the Zefal hp and Topeak Road Morph G. Both are excellent. Frame mounting of the G is not great compared to the Zefal, but I love the floor pumping of the G. Easier and less stress on the valve and your arms...

I don't own the road morph but I've used it and it's a great pump. I didn't buy the road morph due to mounting issues but for touring that shouldn't be an issue.
But since I needed a good practical frame pump to fit several bikes I decided to get a traditional Blackburn frame pump. Although it requires a bit more muscle power than the road morph it'll pump 100+ pressure no problem.

I have owned the Zefal and the Topeak Turbo Morph G. (Topeak describes it as a mountain bike pump. It's 60g heavier than the Road Morph, with a slightly shorter, fatter barrel.) The Topeak wins over the Zefal - much less effort required to get to high pressures because you can use your whole body not just your arms. The Topeak, to be fair, is a mini track pump, and is bound to outperform any frame pump.

The Turbo Morph G comes with a very versatile bracket. You can fit it to the UPPER side of the top tube. The pump looks a bit strange sitting up there. But if you like having a bottle cage on the seat tube you'll be appreciative of the pump's unusual location. That's where mine lived until it was stolen (along with the bike). It meant I could have 2 frame bags, 1 normal bottle cage, 1 Topeak adjustable cage and a terrific pump, all hanging off the frame triangle.

Can anyone describe the Road Morph bracket to me? Where can it be fixed to? I might get it as my next pump.

I still have the old-style Zefal, and it doesn't show any signs of pooping out, so I'll probably have it a while. Also, they sell kits to recondition the rubber gaskets on them, so unless it pops out and gets run over, I'll probably have it for years to come. (I'm a little old-school, anyway, so I really like the classic styling and the way it fits onto the pump peg.)

Can anyone describe the Road Morph bracket to me? Where can it be fixed to? I might get it as my next pump.

You have two choices mounting the Road Morph G: using one set of water bottle bosses (which doesn't allow use with a cage) or included zipties to mount elsewhere on the frame. Topeak has in the past with their other mini pumps have brackets that mount the pump beside a water bottle cage.

Topeak Road Morph.

Mine doesn't have a gauge but you can get parts from Todson if you're in the USA.

It came with a flimsy zip-tie mount. When it broke, I changed it for a mount that came with another mini-pump, which screws between the downtube and water bottle cage and has a strap to keep everything in place. Very solid.

I have a Topeak road morph. To my surprise it popped out of its holder as I banged down Harbor drive one day. Maybe I didn't have it lashed in right ... dunno. Not taking chances, I put a piece of two-sided velcro around it. The velcro is handy for other things (like blocking the front tire) so it doesn't hurt to carry it around.

I have a Topeak road morph. To my surprise it popped out of its holder as I banged down Harbor drive one day. Maybe I didn't have it lashed in right ... dunno. Not taking chances, I put a piece of two-sided velcro around it. The velcro is handy for other things (like blocking the front tire) so it doesn't hurt to carry it around.

The mounts on the Topeaks aren't the greatest (are you listening Topeak? ;) ) but you can use other mounting brackets to get them next to the bottle cage or under the top tube. Eventhough the brackets suck, the pump is so good that it's worth the hassle.

so unless it pops out and gets run over

Or your little brother decides it would make a nice sword and breaks it. That's what happened to mine last week. I am in the market for a new frame pump and am trying to decide between the Road Morph and a regular frame pump.

Topeak Road Morph. I'm on my second one.

Edit: I have never been able to completely (ie, properly) inflate a tire with a frame pump.

There's a thread on pumps in this forum; there's more information about Road Morph or Mtn Morph or others in that thread. It was end of August/Sept that it started...but...now that the Search tool is working, I can be lazy and make you look for this thread on your own. ;)

I was wondering about the frame pump vs. road morph question as well. I have a so-so compact floor pump (I forget which make), but its got a low quality head that doesn't stick on well and it generally is a pain to use and often gets internally pressurized so that I have to unscrew the head to fold it back up again. I've used my friend's road morph and its really much better; I was planning on buying one a while ago but my mother decided to give me up a pump of her choosing for christmas! Well, I don't want to take the one my mum bought me on any long tours because it might give out at any minute (but thanks anyways mum!). So I'm going to be picking up a road morph with a gague next time I see one, as I find it incredibly hard to estimate tire pressure.

The mounts on the Topeaks aren't the greatest (are you listening Topeak? ;) ) but you can use other mounting brackets to get them next to the bottle cage or under the top tube. Eventhough the brackets suck, the pump is so good that it's worth the hassle.

It's wierd to reply to your own post but I owe Topeak an apology. I was at Performance last night and noticed that they are selling a Road Morph now without the funky slider mount. The mount they have - in addition to the awful slider - is one that mounts under the top tube and is just like the Blackburn ones I found long ago. Good work Topeak!

go to

www.cyclaire.com

its a bit bulky compared to mini pumps but it will fill to 8.5 bars no probs, so it then compensates for its weight.

Hmmm, according to one of the reviews on the cyclaire page, it will inflate with much less effort than the topeak morph (which they tested it against).

" Based on our (admittedly not very scientific) tests at Learnie, the Cyclaire inflates something like 5 or 6 times faster than the Turbo Morph "

go to

www.cyclaire.com

its a bit bulky compared to mini pumps but it will fill to 8.5 bars no probs, so it then compensates for its weight.

Neat looking design.

It seems like the pump body might accidentally fly up and smack you in the head if your foot would slip off right when you gave it a vigorous tug.

Have you tried it?

I'm also wondering how prone to breaking the pull cord would be.

Topeak Road Morph.

I love my Crank Bros with a gage and two stage pumping. It makes filling the tire faster at the beginning, and easier on the wrists once you're up over 80 psi.

I get a fair number of flats and tried alot of pumps and imho Topeak morphs are the way to go. So good that I probably could live without a big floor pump at home after buying a couple of Topeak Morphs.

I second the guage bit. Make sure you get one.
It is crucial to avoid over inflating beyound specs.
Front wheel blow out is no fun.

Topeak Road Morph (with gauge). I borrowed one (off Molly from Salem :) at Devil's Lake) when my Zefal mini-pump was found to be cracked. I'd not seen one so small like a track pump before and it was so easy & quick to use. After this, I tried all the way down the coast to SF, even in SF and still couldn't get one. Missed out at Bicycles 101 in Florence, OR by 20 mins to someone who got the last one!. Like someone said before, it's small enough to go in the panniers.

My Topeak Road Morph has a snap-in bracket + a piece of velcro to secure it in. Maybe this is new? Otherwise I'm not sure how it could fall out like others have suggested.


Ben

I have the Road Morph. Great pump, it's the only pump I own. I mounted it BESIDE my water bottle cage using a bracket from another pump. Performance has a bracket that fits for like $2.

Right here: Performance Hurricane ATB Bracket (http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=5750&subcategory_ID=4363)

Hi Guruguhan,
Gotta weigh in for the Topeak Road Morph. Have done several tours and was always frustrated by two things...presta valves and frame mounted pumps. Blackburn, Giro, Serfas presta/schrader, etc. are all crap, comparatively. Bought a TRM about 3 years ago and it was like a cloud lifted. I even like presta valves now...well, not really, but at least I've made my peace with them. Use the Giro and Serfas on my mtb and road trainer, respectively...they'll get me home. For touring the TRM is the best when you're 40 miles into a 60 mile day, it's raining, you've lost your sense of humor and a puncture is no joke. Get the one with the guage as has been recommended. They're a little pricey, but well worth the cost.

My Topeak Road Morph has a snap-in bracket + a piece of velcro to secure it in. Maybe this is new? Otherwise I'm not sure how it could fall out like others have suggested.



Yes this is a new design for the '06 Road Morphs. Prior to this it came with a little sliding clip mount that was about as secure as those clothing clip mounts you see on tail lights.

FYI, Blackburn makes a bottle cage mount that seems about the right size and doesn't require removing the cage (I have the "regular" version that zip ties to the frame). It's just a tad too big but it might be fixable by gluing some strips of inner tube to the inside of the "fingers" that grip the pump. I wonder if the Turbo Morph that someone mentioned earlier might fit better since it has a fatter barrel.

I have the Road Morph. Great pump, it's the only pump I own. I mounted it BESIDE my water bottle cage using a bracket from another pump. Performance has a bracket that fits for like $2.

Right here: Performance Hurricane ATB Bracket (http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=5750&subcategory_ID=4363)

Thanks! I'm going to order a couple of those.
Another vote for the Topeak Road Morph G. I got mine here:
http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/campmor/search/main.jsp?command=text&ip_text=topeak+road+morph&image.x=4&image.y=6